Dynamic Planet- Sub unit 3

Battle for the Biosphere

3.1a What is the value of the biosphere?

What are biomes? Why are they important?

What causes differences between them?

Key Term

• A biome is a major regional group of distinctive plant and animal communities best adapted to the region's physical natural environment, latitude, altitude and terrain factors.

• A biome is composed of the climax vegetation and all associated sub climax, or degraded, vegetation, fauna and soils, but can often be identified by the climax vegetation type.

• Biome• Ecosystem• Altitude• Latitude• Biodiversity• Ocean currents

A community of plants and animals and how they interact with their non- living environment

A large scale ecosystem, with similarities in climate, precipitation.

A measure in degrees from the starting point of 0 degrees at the equator, t a max of 90 degrees north at the North Pole

The term for the increase of height from ground level up. This measure reduces the temperature as you increase height

A shortened term for biological diversity- the variety of plants and animals

Match up the key terms to the correct definition on your sheet

Describe the distribution of these major biomes- desert, deciduous forest, rainforest, Savanna and tundra

Factors that affect CLIMATE

Brainstorm the factors which you think effect climate in the back of your book –

discuss with people around you.

1 - Latitude

1. The further you travel away from the equator the cooler it gets. Why is this?

2. This is because the Earth is curved. Look at the picture above. The sun rays hitting the Earth at a higher latitude are spread out over a greater area. Over the Equator the rays are concentrated in to a smaller area – this is why it is hot at the equator and very cold at the poles.

3. However, the picture is more complicated than this as other factors have a bearing on the climate in different parts of the world.

2 - Altitude

This is the effect of height on temperature - the higher you go, the colder it gets. The sun heats up the earth’s surface and then heat is radiated back up into the atmosphere.

Everest.

The higher up, the lower the temperature, about -1C for each 100

metres.

During summer, temperature is strongly controlled by elevation -- cold at the higher reaches of the Alaska and Brooks Ranges, and warmer in the lowlands.

How does elevation affect climate?

As elevation _________, the averageannual temperature __________.

Elevation

Tem

per

atu

reincreases

decreases

3 - Prevailing Winds

The movement of the earth’s winds starts at the equator, where it is hottest.

There are certain set patterns of winds called prevailing winds, which means that direction winds travels most of the time.

Wind affects the climate where it has travelled over the :

Maritime - ocean

Continental - overland

4. World Wind and Pressure Belts

1. Colour high pressure areas BLUE and low pressure RED

2. Add Hadley Cells, latitude numbers and wind direction arrows

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/4316.html

How is a Hadley Cell Formed?

Sun heats equator

Ground heats air

Air rises and

cools in

the atmosphe

re

As air cools it can no longer rise

Cold air sinks at

the Horse

Latitudes

WIND moves between high and

low pressure

LOWHIGH

Sea heats up slowly and

cools slowly.

Land heats up quickly and

cools quickly.

In Summer the sea takes longer to heat up, places near the sea will be slightly cooler.

But land heats up quickly, places in the centre of large landmasses will be very warm.

The opposite happens in winter.

5. Continentality (Closeness to water)

These 2 places are both at the same latitude, but look at the variation in temperature this is due to the closeness to water

How does closeness to a large body of water affect climate?

Water __________ the temperature._______ summers. _______ winters.

City B is closer to a large body of water.

Its temperature line is flatter (moderated).

moderates

Cities A & B are located at the same latitude.

Cooler Warmer

6. The effect of relief rainfall

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/538.html

The windward sides of the Adirondacks & Catskills receive a great deal more

precipitation

The leeward sides of the

Adirondacks & Catskills

receive much less

precipitation

How does the Orographic Effect

affect climate?

Windward Side: ___________Leeward Side: _____________

cool, moistwarm, dry

Also known as the North Atlantic Drift.

A current of warm water that travels

from the Gulf of Mexico.

This, along with the prevailing

South-Westerly wind, enables a

relatively warmer climate

compared to areas on the

same latitude.

How do ocean currentsaffect climate?

Warm Currents: warmer climateCold Currents: cooler climate

Some surfaces reflect more heat than others.

Ice reflects heat, Earth and Ocean retain heat.

Local examples

• The Congo is the Earth's second largest river by volume and has the world's second largest rainforest (18% of the planet's remaining tropical rainforest). The Congo Basin represents 70% of the African continent's plant cover and makes up a large portion of Africa's biodiversity with over 600 tree species and 10 000 animal species. Six nations -- Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon -- share the 1.5 million square mile Congo basin.

The Congo is one of the world's most threatened ecosystems. Commercial logging, clearing for subsistence agriculture, and widespread civil strife has devastated forests, displaced forest dwellers, and resulted in the expansion of the "bushmeat" trade. Since the 1980s, Africa has had the highest deforestation rates of any region on the globe.

Interactive climate map

http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/interactive_climate_map/climate_map.html

In your pairs….• Use the information in your pack to produce a

fact file about your biome• Draw out and annotate a climate graph-

annotations including- describing rainfall and temperature patterns, highest and lowest temps and precipitation amounts- also temperature range

• Draw an arrow to link your climate graph to the world location map

• Give reasons for the climate of your biome- e.g. latitude, albedo, altitude, prevailing wind, ocean currents, Continentality

• Brief overview of your biome, plants, animals, humans, structure etcTemperature range=

difference between the highest and lowest temperatures in a biome

Choose From….

• Barrow Alaska Tundra• London England, Deciduous Forest• San Francisco, CA, USA- Chaparral• Dakar, Senegal, Savanna (trop grassland)• Tindouf, Algeria, Desert• Iquitos,Peru, Rainforest• Yakutz, Russia, Taiga (coniferous forest)

Latitude/Longitude = 71.2o N; 156o W

Average Annual Temperature (oC) = -12.7o

Annual Temperature Range (oC) = 32o

Total Annual Precipitation (mm) = 110

Summer Precipitation (mm) = 74Winter Precipitation (mm) = 36

Characteristics

"Summer-less"; at least 9 months average below

freezing. Low evaporation;

precipitation usually below 10 in.

Controlling Factors

Location in the high latitudes; Subsidence and divergence

of the polar anticyclone (high pressure)

LocationBarrow Alaska

General World locationArctic ocean border lands

of North America; Greenland and Eurasia; Antarctic Peninsulas; some polar islands.

 

What we will do…

• With your fact files a wall display will be made to show you the variations in world climates

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/3235.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/3236.html

• Give reason for the differences between Morecombe and Torremolinos